


Life on the open sea

by Logically



Series: No matter how [2]
Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canon-Typical Violence, Dissociation, Don't copy to another site, Gambling, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Iroh (Avatar) loves Tea, Swearing, Zuko is an Awkward Turtleduck
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-05
Updated: 2020-02-05
Packaged: 2021-02-19 12:35:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,052
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22577761
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Logically/pseuds/Logically
Summary: In which Zuko has no idea how to talk to someone around his own age, Ai takes up gambling to pass the time, Iroh discovers a new tea blend and the crew are just constantly fascinated.
Relationships: Iroh & Zuko (Avatar)
Series: No matter how [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1620994
Kudos: 31





	Life on the open sea

**Author's Note:**

> The creators of "Avatar: The Last Airbender" are Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko. I do not own "Avatar: The Last Airbender" and nor do I claim to. I am making no monetary profit from this work: I am writing this for fun and writing practice, not for profit.  
> Please support the original release!  
> Information gained from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avatar:_The_Last_Airbender_(comics)#Short_stories  
> Articles: "Avatar: The Last Airbender (comics)" and "Short stories"  
> Date accssesed: 02/02/2020

Ai would be the first to admit that her first week aboard the vessel hadn’t been ideal. Suddenly having another mouth to feed caused even more of a strain on food supplies than there had been before she arrived, although no one would tell her why a ship with a prince on it didn’t have enough food. When she’d worked up the courage to ask the general, (portly retiree or no, that was still The Dragon of the West!) he’d just said something about moon flowers blooming in the dark before inviting her to play Pai Sho. 

Playing Pai Sho with the general stung, even though she found she quite enjoyed the game once she got the hang of it. It reminded her too much of the board games father would dig out of the hall closet on rainy days and the fact she’d never see them again because those bastards destroyed the house-

The old man seemed to understand though, even without her having to say anything although he still invited her to play once in a while. Ai was pretty sure people you had met only days ago weren’t supposed to understand you so well, but maybe it was just an old person thing. In any case, her introduction to the crew had a mix of reactions. There were a few grumblings about ‘picking up strays’ and ‘not another one’, but the general mood had been fascination. In fact, sometimes she’d be stopped randomly by a member of the crew and asked to air bend. Ai felt more than a little awkward performing party tricks for adults who looked at her with practical stars in their eyes, so she really hoped that the novelty would wear off soon. Just what did the Fire Nation teach people about air benders, in any case? Whatever it was, she wasn’t sure it justfied at least three adults with pencils, notepads and questions about Air Nomad defensive structures and weapons. /At least he was right when he said I had nothing to fear from them./

What really annoyed her though wasn’t the questions or the pestering for a demonstration; it was the fact that she didn’t know a lot of the answers. When she’d asked after her anscestors as a child Father’s features had twisted into a completely foreign expression, and for a moment she’d feared that she’d upset him somehow. Apparently she hadn’t though, because he’d pulled her into his lap and spoke for hours about Great-Grandmother. In hindsight it was easy to see that he’d been making a lot of things up: silly things to satisfy a child’s curiosity and nothing more. Sometimes it made her wonder just how much he had known and chosen not to share, or if he had really known anything at all. The air benders of a hundred years ago were as much of a mystery to her as the contents of Zuko’s quarters, which she’d been told on her first day never to approach unless she wanted her head bitten off.

Somehow she didn’t think telling the crew members that would go over very well.  
\- - - - -  
Ai felt like her brain was turning to mush. She’d been staring at the same expanse of wall for two hours; so far she’d seen two drops of water from above (which she had figured out was the deck, it must have rained recently.) A mouse-rat had scurried along the floor at one point, and she was left wondering if she should tell anyone. Mouse-rats were hygiene hazards, right? They ate food supplies, and if there was one there was probably more. So she should totally tell someone, right?

Only she found she couldn’t bring herself to move. Apparently it had been declared that there would be no sparring until Zuko’s bandages came off, and she hadn’t seen him since the day they’d met. When she’d expressed her concern over the fact that the prince didn’t seem to leave his room to Iroh, he’d sighed. Evidently that was normal behaviour for his nephew between destinations: he’d come out, demand the helmsman set the course that he wanted, then go back in and slam the door. Unlike the rest of the crew he didn’t attend communal meals; she assumed that he used the men’s communal showers, but he must take his in the dead of the night because she’d never seen him in the area.

That one she understood, at least partially. If she had to wash around a large face-scar that was still healing she wouldn’t want anyone else to see either.

Since Prince Grumpy-pants wasn’t allowed to spar, there really wasn’t much for her to do. She’d tried to make herself useful around the ship, but there were all sorts of problems. The diagrams of the inner workings of the vessel looked like a child’s scrawl, and the firebenders on board had minor repairs covered (via using their fingers like something they called ‘welding torches’.) The cook had at first seemed to think it was cute that she’d wanted to help, but definetly hadn’t after she’d turned what should have been a perfectly easy pie into some kind of soggy monstrosity. Arguing that she’d never even seen Fire Nation food before had earned her a truly spectacular lecture and a two-week banishment from the kitchens. This was especially annoying as she kept having to ask other people to get her food for her and then explain why she couldn’t do it herself, which was met with guffawing laughter. 

She knew sailors must have not have much to talk about between ports but honestly, by the second day it seemed like the entire ship knew.

By the fourth day Iroh had taken pity on her and started bringing her her food, which made her feel crushingly guilty. What kind of person made an old man fetch their food?  
On the fifth day she’d formally begged for forgiveness, which apparently came as a great surprise because the man dropped his soup ladle, along with several ready meals that had just been finished. After that he’d demanded that she help replace them (under supervision, of course) and then, since she was so eager to help, he assigned her dish-washing duty. Not that she minded; she was just glad for something to do.

Now all the mealtimes were done for the day though, there was absolutely nothing to do. Once she’d made the mistake of asking one of the adults if she could spar against them instead and had come out of it with several superficial burns and a lovely shiner over one eye. Getting stronger was the primary objective here, alongside searching for her mother, but she was so far out of her league with these people it was laughable. Being told off by the resident medic for using up supplies when they had already been running low in the first place certainly didn’t help her damaged esteem, either.

As unfair of her it probably was, she found herself wishing that he prince was more sociable. Surely talking to someone around her own age who wasn’t busy with chores would allievate the boredom a little?

Zuko never showed himself though, and she didn’t dare knock on his door.

Out of nowhere she began to wonder what the other crew members did in their spare time, and since she literally had nothing better to do, set off to find out.  
\- - - - -

On the twelth day, they docked. Ai wasn’t allowed on land without an escort (in case she accidentally revealed her ‘abilities’) but after so long at sea she didn’t really acre. Upon seeing her practically kiss the ground in jubilation, her companion couldn’t help but smile a litte.

Ai narrowed her eyes at Iroh. “What’s so funny?”  
The question was met with a chuckle.”Nothing, nothing. It is only that I remember my first year at sea and how the sight of land could be like a refreshing poem after months of reading mission reports. You’ll get used to it eventually, and then the ocean will seem like an old friend.”  
The girl considered his words for a few moments before nodding thoughtfully. That made sense; if she became so familiar with the sea the sight of it probably would be comforting, just like how the mountains around her home offered a vague sense of protection.

/Fat lot of good that did./

Ai shook the thought away; dwelling on it beyond using it as motivation was pointless. When she looked up again, she found the other to be gazing at her consideringly. 

What?” She eyed the general suspiciously; usually she found his proverbs insightful, but sometimes they were just plain confusing. Especially the ones about tea. 

Iroh chuckled again, only this time it had a more tangible warmth to it. Ai got a feeling like she was back in the village schoolhouse and had just answered a question correctly, only she had no idea what she could have done to warrant this kind of reaction. 

The general waved a hand at her. “Oh, nothing much.” He stated despite the fact hat his wide grin clearly said otherwise. “It’s just that it’s been a long time since a young person has taken my advice so seriously. Alas, my nephew just seems to think that I give out meaningless riddles.”

Ai blanched. Was that really Zuko’s opinion? Then she actually thought about it. /Well,/she considered. /It’s not like he makes sense all the time./

Some of her thoughts must have leaked over into her expression, because he laughed jovially before saying: “Well then, I find myself in the mood for a new blend of tea. Would you mind assisting an old man in looking for some herbs?”

Immeditaely she perked up and drew out her notebook from the folds in her armour. They hadn’t been prepared to accomodate a teenage girl so they’d given her a spare set of Zuko’s (minus the gold trim that denoted royalty.) It was a bit of a tight fit, but at the time she’d just been happy to change out of her mud-drenched clothes.

She practically bounded over to Iroh. “I can totally help with that!” If he was perturbed by her enthusiasm at all he didn’t show it, and instead listened raptly as she regaled him with information about the different kinds of plants they might be able to find.

\- - - - -  
Zuko was not sulking.He was not, even when one of the female spearmen had cheekily informed him that sitting on his bed, arms crossed, and staring at the ceiling was definetly sulking.

Then she’d had the nerve to suggest that he interact with the ‘young miss’, as if she was anything more than a random peasant they’d come across in the woods.

An admittedly useful peasant, but still.

Besides, she was partly the reason why he was in such a mood in the first place. /Oh spirits that was even worse than saying ‘sulking.’/ 

Not only did had the girl wasted supplies by distracting the cook, but she enabled Uncle’s time-wasting habits as well! Pai Sho, idle chatter, tea-making… all of it was absolutely useless in the face of capturing the avatar!

When he’d caught wind that she’d sparred against Lieutenant Jee, he’d started to think that maybe she was the only other person on this ship other than himself taking the task seriously, but she’d never sparred against anyone after that!

Until the bandages came off his face, she had no use at all.

It was with this in mind that he leapt off of his bed and slammed open his door, making a passing mechanic jump a foot in the air. He winced at the twinge og guilt that sparked but didn’t apologise, instead stomping his way towards the bow where he knew the Pai Sho table would be set up.

All of the room’s occupants turned to look at him when he burst in, and almost all of them stood to attention when they realized who had entered the room.  
The ones who hadn’t were sat at the table, but at least they were all looking at him. It was as he was surveying this part of the room that he noticed the piles of coin sitting next to each person.

Zuko almost let himself gape. Now they were gambling?!

Someone, the helmsman maybe, called out with a tentative “Prince Zuko?”  
Whoever it was went completely ignored as Zuko pointed accusingly at the youngest member of the table. “You!”  
With an expression that radiated befuddlement the airbending plebeian raised a hand to point at herself. “Me?”  
Great, now he could actually feel his face going red. “Yes, you!”

The plebeian’s brows scrunched up in confusion as she asked in an affronted voice: “What have I done?”

There was an especial emphasis on the ‘I’, as if she knew she was behaving badly but was still questioning why she was singled out amongst all the other incompetents.

“What have-“ Words don’t seem to be able to make it past his teeth right then, the rage acting like a cork preventing him from expressing his rage. One of the older crew members takes his temporary speechlessness as an opportunity to swipe some of his opponent’s coins, which he quickly puts a stop to with a glare. The rest of the adults all tense up slightly, preparing for what they think will undoubtedly be a dressing down to behold.

They don’t have to wait long. “What have you done?! You’ve gone and wasted precious time and resources!” “Excuse me?” She really had no right to sound so offended, after all the inconvenience she’d caused. “Not only did you waste ingredients that we had to spend hours collecting ourselves-“Zuko felt some small amount of satisfaction when the other winced; at least she knew she’d been wrong there “-but you also waste time you could spend doing something useful with activities like this!” With a swift arm movement that trailed smoke he gestured to the table that was still littered with cards.

Quicker than a bolt shot from a crossbow the girl’s expression morphed from faint confusion to annoyance, and he unconsciously took a step back as she jumped to her feet.

“I’m wasting time? That’s rich coming from the guy who just stays in his room all day!” The room took a collective breath, and the prince almost growled. “What’s that supposed to mean?” “Exactly what it sounds like! For the past week and a half I’ve been trying to make myself useful, but there’s practically nothing for me to do! So I don’t understand why you, who as far as I know have done nothing but laze around in his room, get to tell me off for finding something to occupy myself with!” For a moment, Zuko was absolutely speechless. The other had been getting more and more worked up the longer she spoke, to the point that her face had turned an alarming shade of fire-berry red. Everyone else in the room was eyeing him like he was a powder-keg about to explode, and suddenly he deeply, crushingly whished that he had never left his room in the first place. 

Instead of admitting that weakness though, he decided to get back in a way that most certainly didn’t look dubious at all. Like a spider-viper his hand snapped out to grab the older girl’s wrist and started to drag her out of the room. She stumbled as he led her past the door, but quickly caught up with him before yanking her appendage from his grip. “Just what exactly do you think you’re doing?” As she regarded him with narrowed eyes he almost felt like telling her off for addressing the crown prince of the Fire Nation like a child caught with his hand in the cookie-jar. Then he decided that enough time had already been wasted and came straight out with: “Taking you to my room!” It was only after the words had left his mouth that he realised what they sounded like, and he wasn’t the only one. The other’s face cycled through a menagerie of emotions: shock, then confusion, and then disgust. He didn’t even get the chance to get a word out before she was saying: “Jeez kid, I get you’re a prince and all, but don’t you think that I’m just a tad too old for you?”

Mortified and face redder than a sunset, Zuko bellowed “No!”, realised what that sounded like in answer to the question that had been asked, and quickly followed it up with an equally loud “Yes!”

His companion was looking properly bewildered now, all traces of the irritation from earlier drained away like water in to a storm drain. “So… Which is it? Because no offense to you, really, but I don’t go after prepubescent boys-“

“That wasn’t what I meant to say!” Accompanied by clenched fists and a fierce scowl, this sentence was practically roared. Iroh, who had been sipping his new blend of tea in his room on almost the other side of the ship, nearly choked at the sudden sound of his nephew’s embarrassed tones.

“What I meant was,” he carried on before the other could make another comment about his age, “You said that I just laze about in my room, so I’m going to prove you wrong by showing you all the work I’ve been doing in there.”

Slowly, she blinked at him and he belatedly realized that he didn’t know her name. He felt like it had been told to him at some point, probably by Uncle, but he must have been distracted at the time because the memory was all fuzzy.

Before he had the time to feel ashamed over it her huffing voice cut in with: “Well, why didn’t you just say so earlier?” and all guilt over not knowing her name evaporated like water under the hot sun.

\- - - - -  
As awkward as the conversation in the hallway undoubtedly was, Ai found herself brimming with curiosity as she stepped into Zuko’s room. The place had been spoken about like some sort of forbidden land, so of course she wanted to see the inside now that she’d been given permission.

In reality, it was rather disappointing.

Mostly bare walls made up the four corners of the room; the only decoration being a standard wall-hanging with the Fire Nation insignia and a pair of swords. Against one of the walls was a small desk with candles and writing supplies on it, and across from that was the same kind of futon she’d been given her first night on the ship. This surprised her a little; as the prince shouldn’t he be getting preferential treatment?

Said prince used her moment of thought to move past her and to the wardrobe, which he opened and started rummaging around in. Her look of the room complete, she wandered over to see what he was doing.

What she saw over his shoulder made her heart stop for a second.

Zuko, oblivious to his guests’ plight, drew back with a small “Ah-ha!” of triumph and stood up. When he turned to her he visibly did a double-take at whatever face she was making.

“Are you…” He started, clearly uncomfortable. She would have felt bad, really, but at that moment it was like her mind had left her body; her emotions were vague things floating on the surface of her soul like flotsam, access to them blocked by waters she didn’t know the depth of.

“Are those,” voice straining, she tried to speak past the sudden lump in her throat that felt like she’d swallowed cotton: “airbending scrolls?”

Indeed, that was what they appeared to be; even though the paper was discoloured and wrinkled, the orange insignia on the ends of each of them were unmistakable. 

Zuko jolted as if he had forgotten what he had in his arms, but upon remembering he strode over to the desk and gingerly released his load on the wooden surface. Ai just stared. 

“They are.” He confirmed. “I got them from the Western Air Temple and have been studying the forms ever since. It’s actually making me look forward to the sparring sessions we’re going to have, since you must already know most of these, right?” For the first time since she’d met him the boy actually sounded excited, as if the prospect of fighting against a girl he’d met less than two weeks ago was the best thing to happen to him in too long a while. It made her feel sick.

It took her a few seconds to realize that she was supposed to respond, and she managed to choke out a “No” over the feeling of her throat constricting. 

Zuko whirled around, only visible eye slightly wide. “What do you mean ‘no’? Your parents must have taught you some things!”

Instantly all of the muscles in her body stilled as she was assaulted with memories of copying her father’s movements as she desperately tried to master what sparse teachings that her ancestors had managed to pass on. Writing them down would only provide incriminating evidence to what otherwise might have been explained away, so he’d had her drill the same moves over and over until she couldn’t mess them up. For a few days afterwards it had seemed like every inch of flesh was being pulled to the point of tearing, but it had been nothing compared to the airy sense of joy she’d gotten at being that little bit closer to the rest of the family that she’d never gotten to meet.

Gazing on those papers now, the ones she knew with absolute certainty that her parent would have given both of his hands if meant that they could both read without consequence, seemed like a cosmic slap to the face. What was the point in all of this if he wasn’t here to enjoy it as well?

Like it knew she was mentally going to dark places, her brain supplied her with the man’s final request: for her to live.

And she would, if she could help it at all. Only, why did living right now feel like she was an audience member watching an actor play out her life?

Somehow in the whirl pool of debris her mind was quickly becoming she found the words to answer Zuko’s question. “My father was the only other air bender I ever knew, and he’s dead.”

The other teen winced but obviously didn’t know how to respond to that, because he was silent for several beats. Eventually he said: “Oh, I’m…sorry.”

Distantly she wondered why he was apologising when he hadn’t even been there, but managed a nod even though the action made her feel like a puppet whose strings had been pulled taught. 

Silence settled over the two like an uncomfortably heavy blanket, but Ai hardly noticed.

She was brought out of it by the feeling of something being shoved against her chest. Looking downwards her eyes met the forms of several scrolls and books, all held in place by a single pale hand. Following that hand to an arm and then a face, she made eye-contact with Prince Zuko, who appeared to be trying his very hardest to scowl but wasn’t quite succeeding. 

After several moments of her doing nothing he finally snapped: “Well?! Take them!” 

A little shocked she obeyed without thinking about it, and her arms went to surround the paper. When he was satisfied that she wouldn’t drop them, he let go. 

“Can’t have you entering our sparring sessions unprepared; make sure to study these in the next few weeks, and that’s an order!”

Later Ai wouldn’t remember nodding, but she found herself being shoved out into the hallway before she could dredge up a verbal response. From the other side of the metal door she could hear him shouting to come back for the rest as soon as she mastered the ones in her arms, but that hardly registered. 

Ai, an airbender who had had to rely on sketchy retellings of retellings for any sort of information about her ancestry suddenly had an armful of bending scrolls and historical books.

She wondered why she couldn’t feel happy about it.

**Author's Note:**

> I meant for this one to for them exploring the Southern Air Temple, but this came out instead.


End file.
